Alaska is one of the most popular Bucket List Destinations for travelers from around the world, and if you are looking at Alaska holidays, then you should definitely have the following Alaska experiences on your bucket list. In this post, I will explain 5 Amazing Things To Do in Alaska.
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Have a Once in the Lifetime experience at Mendenhall Ice Caves
One of Alaska’s most magnificent secrets and must in Things To Do in Alaska – The Mendenhall Glacier is a 12-mile-long glacier in the Mendenhall Valley, formed over 3000 years ago, in southeast Alaska, only 12 miles away from downtown Juneau.
To see the stunning blue ice caves, that attract tourists and travelers from around the world, you must first hike for 7-8 miles to reach the glacier and then make your way carefully to the caves.
Fun Fact – The stunning “glacier blue” color that attracts everyone, is the result of air being squeezed from the original frozen snow and ice, so that the ice absorbs every color except blue.
Please note that as the trail is slippery, unmarked, uneven and even steep, you need to be prepared accordingly, however visiting The Mendenhall Ice Caves is an extraordinary experience — the kind that has a special place in the heart and lives with you. Like a One of a Kind experience.
The best way to explore the ice caves is to go with an experienced tour guide who knows the conditions at any time and what areas are safe to walk through. As the Glaciers are volatile, having good hiking boots and waterproof clothing is a must, and good quality protective headgear, which will likely be issued by the guide.
It is one of those places where one can see the effects of climate change up close and personal and you can’t miss this among Things To Do in Alaska
And rightly so, the Mendenhall Ice Caves aren’t going to wait around for you; perhaps not even for the next 10 years. With every passing year, the rise in global temperatures have caused the glacier to melt even faster.
And it goes without saying that, as and when the ice melts and thins, visiting the ice caves becomes that much more challenging and dangerous.
Stay at the Aurora Express Bed & Breakfast
One of the most amazing Things To Do in Alaska is you can do in Alaska is check-in at the Aurora Express which is a bed and breakfast in Alaska where you stay in renovated railroad carriages.
Located high on a hill overlooking Fairbanks, the largest city in the interior region of Alaska, these vintage carriages were all set to become a museum until the Wilson family decided to turn them into a Bed & Breakfast.
The USP of Aurora Express Bed and Breakfast is that it has been divided into suites, and each one is decorated in such a way, so as to represent a different period in the history of the Alaskan railroad.
Visit the Barrow Whale Bone Arch aka ‘Gateway to the Arctic’
One of Alaska’s top attractions and come in Things To Do in Alaska, the famous Whale Bone Arch is one of the most Instagrammable spots in Alaska and provides an ideal setting for amazing photographs.
The arch opens up to the Arctic Ocean, symbolizing Barrow’s relationship to the sea and whaling, which is something you will learn more about when you go there.
The “Gateway to the Arctic” sits upon a gray pebbled beach with the shells of traditional whaling boats and other bones scattered about.
Board the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway
Built back in 1898, the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, is today a national historic engineering landmark, and carries some 400,000 passengers a year.
As the train leaves from Skagway towards White Pass, it ascends around 3000 feet over 20 miles and provides amazing vistas and panoramic views throughout. it deserves to be in Things To Do in Alaska
Fun Fact – The White Pass & Yukon Route has been declared an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, elevating the status of the railroad with the likes of the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the Panama Canal.
Visit the Instagrammable National Parks
Alaska is home to 5 National Parks namely – Denali National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Glacier Bay National Park out of which the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park is home to the famous Chilkoot Trail – a 3-4 day hike following the route of the gold-seeking stampeders back in 1898, from sea level in the Alaskan panhandle up over the Chilkoot Pass into Canada.
Denali National Park on the other hand is home to Mt. McKinley – The Tallest Mountain in North America.
We recommend you keep spare time at hand when visiting the National Parks in Alaska, as they are a photographer’s delight, and you might just end up getting some really amazing Instagrammable shots. if you love to share your trips on Instagram then this is a must-visit in Things To Do in Alaska.
